The brand Arvind Kejriwal dilemma

Santosh Desai There is a big difference between television politics and electoral politics, just as there is a yawning gap between an imagined and self-described middle class and the real thing. And this twin dichotomy lies at the heart of the dilemma facing Arvind Kejriwal, as he prepares to unfurl his brand of politics to the country. Being a brave crusader standing outside the gates of a decaying system with a moral battering ram may not have been easy but at least it was very clear as to what he stood for and which constituency he represented.

For the educated middle class, the last few decades have been frustrating as they found themselves squeezed out into the political margin, as a new kind of political representative emerged to dominate. The empowerment of the hitherto marginalised and the consequent use of power to extract caste-based concessions made the middle class deeply suspicious of the political process.

The coming of the market and its use as an extractive device by the political establishment further alienated this class that saw politics as a cesspool from which escape seemed difficult. Thanks to economic reform, significant progress was made in their own material status and the heightened sense of self- importance that accompanied this, clashed strongly with the feeling of being politically irrelevant.

This was the core constituency that the anti-graft movement appealed to and spoke for. The idea of the Janlok Pal bill was nothing more than a crystallisation of a deep and nameless need for overall cleansing, part of a fantasy of radical overhaul with some shiny silver bullet. Anna Hazare was in this context, a symbol, a brand ambassador who looked the part, for no one really knew him or his beliefs; what made him a powerful rallying point was that he looked the part. Kejriwal found in him the fountainhead that he himself could never be; an emotionally resonant embodiment of the brand idea that the movement stood for.

Now that the movement has fallen apart, because if fatally overplayed its hand, brand Kejriwal faces a new dilemma. It can continue to speak for its original constituency, the television middle class, which wants a cleaner political system with untainted, educated and articulate faces and craves for development - an idea that loosely translates into a visibly better life for themselves. This is a segment that is currently unrepresented and aligns closely with Kejriwal's natural strengths. This is also a segment which is responsive to media visibility and support, something that Kejriwal's brand of politics will attract, disproportionate to his actual presence.

The trouble is that whatever might be the self-image of this class, in numbers it is simply not significant enough. The actual middle class, which is much less affluent and visible than what we see on television, is a better bet electorally. The problem is that the issues of concern here are different; ideas of economic equity become more important, and the definition of development too loses its Brand-India propelled, Shanghai-inspired slant. As it turns out, Team Kejriwal's natural sympathies too lie in this area; so far given the single-minded focus on the anti-corruption issue meant that the team's political positioning did not come into play. Now that it is incumbent upon it to articulate a larger worldview and position itself in the matrix of prevalent political ideas, it finds it both profitable and comfortable to speak to the electoral middle class rather than its television counterpart.

The problem with its new positioning is that it is far from unique; the left-of-centre welfare state worldview has been pretty much the heart of politics in India today. Arvind Kejriwal has no particular advantage in this area and needs to build a constituency ground upwards, which is going to be extremely difficult. What is particularly important for brand Kejriwal is to be mindful of its limitations and define its ambition within this context.

While it is inconceivable that this political space will, even in the medium term, become numerically significant, it can become influential, given the fragmented nature of the polity today. Representing a small, visible and very vocal urban middle class segment and winning even a toehold in electoral politics, can potentially give it disproportionate clout. Attempts to widen the base may end up losing the following it has won so far.

It is interesting that for all alleged importance of development and the role played by reform in bringing this about, not a single political formation finds it rewarding to try and market economic reforms electorally. We already have the supposedly right wing BJP act like the Left, and now even an urban middle class movement seems to find it worthwhile risking its base to oppose liberal market policies. Brand Kejriwal is at a fork on a road; unfortunately both available paths seem long, hard and dusty.